Williams grew up in Harrisburg, North Carolina, and attended Hickory Ridge High School.
[1] He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Syracuse University.
[4] He became a starter going into his redshirt freshman season and was named honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after making 64 tackles with a conference-leading 12 passes defended and two interceptions.
[9] Over the four years, Williams played 32 games, made 152 tackles, and had four interceptions, one of which was a pick-6 on Trevor Lawrence, his only pick-six at Clemson.
[9][12][13] He began the 2023 season on the reserve/non-football injury list while he recovered from a torn ACL suffered in college.